The Center Party's local representative on the uncertain government situation

At the time of this writing, the final election results have not yet been determined. Fewer than a hundred districts are still to be counted and only around 26,000 votes separate the blocs, but the red-green side has a lead over the blue-yellow by three seats.

The Social Democrats' party secretary Tobias Baudin demanded on Tuesday that Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson admit defeat, but the M leader already signaled on election day evening that he intends to try to gather a "non-socialist" majority in the Riksdag in order to form a new government.

Both he and the Social Democrats' Magdalena Andersson need the Center Party to secure a majority in the Riksdag and to be able to pass a state budget with certainty, but C's Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist has drawn red lines against both the Left Party and the Sweden Democrats.

C has in the election campaign said no to V in a government position, but at the same time, the Left Party has a congressional decision not to let any government forward where they themselves do not get ministers. There, Anton Sauer believes that V may be forced to back down, but realizes that this may mean that C will not get any ministerial positions either.

The question is how much understanding of compromises there is within the Center Party.

- I think Elisabeth can sell it - if we get paid well enough, says Anton Sauer, center-party municipal councilor in Malmö.

It is partly about substantive issues, such as the abolition of the waiting period and a ban on profits in school, and partly about ideological positions which, in the eyes of the Center Party, make SD an impossible partner.

- For my part, I am not happy to let V enter the government. I don't think it's good for Sweden. It is a party that is far too squeamish to deal with and because of that it also becomes difficult to have as ministers, says Anton Sauer.

In Malmö, C has been in opposition for the past eight years, and Anton Sauer points out that the city has been the "epicenter" of the scandals that have rocked the Left Party, with representatives who have been exposed after expressing themselves anti-Semitic or praising terrorists.

- Bringing V into the government, it will be a very vulnerable government. Not only in domestic politics, but also if international powers dig up a lot of divisive statements that they have defended or that they have been involved in, he says.

At the same time, V advanced in the election and looks set to be bigger than C. Anton Sauer and other center parties are aware that Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist will be forced into tough negotiations.

Speculations about a new majority on the right, where C would be part of a collaboration with the Tidö parties, Anton Sauer thinks are more far-fetched.

- All of a sudden people seem to have forgotten the last four years and think that now C could support exactly what we have been against. All moderates who have written something to a center party have probably panicked in the last 24 hours to delete it, he says.

In Jönköping, during the past mandate period, the Center Party governed the municipality together with S and L, with the support of V and MP to get budgets passed. At the municipal level, Rikard Bunnvik (C) thinks that the collaboration has worked.

- Of course, I am much more to the right than Julia Löf, who is the person of the left here. But it has worked, no doubt. There have not been ideological contradictions in the way that there are at the national level, he says.

Rikard Bunnvik believes that compromises will be required if C and V are to be able to work together to produce a government.

- I think that somewhere both C and V will shake things up a bit. But I think it is a red line to have ministers from the Left Party, but you can get around that. V have questions that are close to their hearts and if they can be met in some way, then there is a way forward.

- Then of course you have to have limits to how far you can go. But the disdain we have for politicians is there because they behave the way they do at the national level, instead of being pragmatic and solution-oriented and taking responsibility.

In Stockholm, C will very likely continue to operate as an opposition party. Municipal councilor Jonas Naddebo (C) thinks it is too early to talk about what a future government could look like.

- We don't close any doors. We keep them open, so to speak. That is our entrance at the moment. I do not want to speculate on how the party organization would receive different options.